Under the ‘two and two’ agreement blueberries will be included as a “future priority” after the two countries agree on current priorities for new market access, an Agriculture and Water Resources department spokesman said.

The current priorities include peaches plums and apricots, after agreements for nectarines, table grapes and cherries were previously settled.

“Once access has been finalised for additional summerfruit varieties, the department can then work with Chinese authorities to progress the new ‘two and two’ agreement, with access for mainland apples as the first priority,” the spokesman said.

Negotiating this agreement involves the Agriculture and Water Resources department working with industry, including Tasmanian producers, and Chinese authorities.

This process culminates in the Australian government developing a technical market access submission, which is assessed for risk to identify any pests or diseases of concern.

If anything is identified through the risk assessment, such as blueberry rust, measures to address those risks will be negotiated between Australia and China.

“All Australian exports must comply with the final requirements set by the importing country,” the spokesman said.

“The department works closely with our industry to ensure Australian exporters meet importing country requirements,” he said.

There is no set time frame around when blueberries will be exported to China, the spokesman said.

“Technical market access negotiations can be lengthy and complex. This is the nature of international trade relations,” he said.

Australia’s agricultural exports to China in 2016 were worth more than $10 billion.